Will Missing Start Menu kill Windows 8?

Microsoft is ready to launch its Windows 8 to public next friday but
after reading several articles and comments posted by average Windows users, it
does not sound good.

Windows 8 does not have a start menu. Almost everybody I
talked to or know who are using or try to use Window 8 were expecting it and
found themselves confused when they can't find a quick way to launch their
applications from the start menu. I personally upgraded a few PCs from Windows 7 to Windows 8
and I was asked to put Windows 7 back.

It's human nature. People don't like
changes. People don't like complexity. Microsoft may be thinking they are
making Windows experience simpler but people are confused.

What do you think? Personally, once you get used to it, I
like Windows 8. But if you ask me, I still want my Start menu.

In an article
published on HT, it seems like Windows 8 is a very confusing. Here are some of
the comments from the article.

"It was very difficult to get used to," he said.
"I have an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, and they never got used to it.
They were like, `We're just going to use Mom's computer.'"

"I am very worried that Microsoft may be about to shoot
itself in the foot spectacularly," said. Michael Mace, the CEO of Silicon
Valley software startup Cera Technology and a former Apple employee. Windows 8
is so different, he said, that many Windows users who aren't technophiles will
feel lost, he said.

"In the quest for simplicity, they sacrificed obviousness,"
said Sebastiaan de With, an interface designer and the chief creative officer
at app developer DoubleTwist in San Francisco.

"There are many things that are hidden," said
Raluca Budiu, a user experience specialist with Nielsen Norman Group.
"Once users discover them, they have to remember where they are. People
will have to work hard and use this system on a regular basis."

"Most Windows users don't view their PCs as being
broken to begin with. If you tell them `Oh, here's a new version of Windows,
and you have to relearn everything to use it,' how many normal users are going to
want to do that?" he asked.

"After a bit of a learning curve and playing around
with it a bit more, you get used to it, surprisingly," he said.

C# Corner founder, 10-times Microsoft MVP, technical author, and software architect. Mahesh authored his first book, A Programmer’s Guide to ADO.NET in C# with APress at the age of 25. C# Corner is a memb... Read more